Samsung Galaxy Ace II hands-on

The Samsung Galaxy Ace line has proven to be a solid piece of mid-level fare outside the United States, and the follow-up -- the aptly named Samsung Galaxy Ace II looks to conitnue in that vein. There's no mistaking that you're not handling a phone from Samsung's top shelf. Whereare the Galaxy S II and Google's Samsung Galaxy Nexus scream sex appeal, the Galaxy Ace II is decidedly middle class. And that's not a bad thing.

The 3.7-inch WVGA display is competent enough, and the 800 MHz processor pushes the Android 2.3 build along quite smoothly. The UI is sparse. Actually, it's boring. But, again, we're talking bread and butter, not steak tartar. It's loaded with Samsung's suite of apps, and it's got GLONASS for GPS, if you're into that sort of thing.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 arrives on Verizon Wireless Mar. 1st

With Verizon and Samsung having already announced the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, all that remained left to be said was a release date and pricing. Wonder no more though, as Verizon has just announced availablity for 4G LTE enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 come Mar. 1st. Need a specs reminder?

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 will be packing a Super AMOLED Plus display with 1280x800 resolution, a 1.4 GHz dual-core processor along with a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera featuring LED flash and capable of 720p playback (1080p playback through HDMI dock or adapter). A 2-megapixel front facing camera for video chat, 16GB of storage and of course as mentioned -- Verizon's 4G LTE for connectivity all powered by Android 3.2 Honeycomb.

If you're looking to pick one up, you'll be handing over $499 to Verizon on a two-year contract and don't forget to add in the required $30/mnth data package that allows for 2GB of data. The full press release can be found past the break for you all.

Grab the official Android MWC app from the Android Market

Not at Mobile World Congress but still want to follow along? Google has now released their official Mobile World Congress app in the Android Market. Of course, it is meant for attendees to use but it's still an awesome app to download and check out. Some of the features:

Event information

Booth & partner maps

Information on partners featured at the booth

Google Mobile apps featured at MWC

Android Pin checklist

Photo Notes

You can jump on past the break for the download link and stay tuned for more Mobile World Congress coverage right here on Android Central. Thanks, Gordon!

Fujitsu is excited about its newest Android phone -- which we first heard as a faint whisper -- and rightfully so. It's got a beautiful high-resolution 4.6-inch LCD display and is running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Plus it's got an external antenna, which always excites those of us from North America.

But the feature -- pair of features, actually -- that you really need to pay attention to is the fact that it's an LTE device with a Tegra 3 chipset. If you've been going through life thinking the two can't co-exist because of some sort of hardware incompatibility, get that out of your system now. Tegra 3 and LTE can (and will) play nicely together.

As far as the rest of the Arrows prototype goes, it's a mix of new beauty and old design. It's got a trio of physical buttons for menu, home and back. It's also got the 3.5mm headphone jack and microUSB ports covered by clunky doors. But that's all done for a reason -- this sucker's waterproof and dustproof.

Another notable spec is the 13.1-megapixel camera that has an ISO of 25600. Wowzers.

Video hands-on with the ASUS Padfone

ASUS' Padfone is one of the most unusual devices we've seen at MWC so far -- a phone, which transforms into a tablet, which in turn transforms into a laptop, with pen input that can also be used as a handset. But while this may sound gimmicky, it's actually pretty well executed. The user experience is fast whether in phone, tablet or notebook mode, and the transition between the three is seamless, as you'll see in our hands-on footage after break.

Hands-on with the Toshiba 7.7 Tegra 3 tablet

Toshiba's been in the Android tablet space for about a year now. But let's just be completely honest here -- design wasn't exactly the shining feature you'd write home about in the original Thrive or the Thrive 7.

With the Toshiba 7.7-inch tablet (you've seen it before as the AT720), that's no longer an issue. You're going to be shouting from the rooftops for this NVIDIA Tegra 3-powered tablet. Having shed the USB port (among other externals) from the Thrive series, the 7.7 is incredibly thin and light. Interesting, though, is that it still has a super-chunky charging connector. Just like with the Thrive 7, we freely amid being a little obsessed by this. But it's just odd for what is an otherwise extremely stylish tablet.

The mondo port is flanked by a pair of stereo speakers. There's a power button and volume rocker in the usual place, along with a rotation lock switch.

The unit we played with definitely has an unfinished build of Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich -- it managed to lock up and remain unhelpful even after a reboot. But we have seen its gaming prowess in person, along with the gorgeous AMOLED display at 1280x800. You are going to want this tablet.

And you also are going to want to know when and where you can get it. Nobody's saying just yet, but here's to hoping we get it in the States, soonest.

US Cellular offering a limited-time $100 activation credit with any Android device

Whether you are looking to grab another device for yourself but don't want to spend a fortune, or you want to get out of the grasp of your current cellular provider, US Cellular has again made an enticing offer to lure you in. For a limited time US Cellular will be offering a $100 activation credit on your account, in addition to waiving any activation fees, all for only signing up for a new US Cellular plan. Unlike many other providers, this offer is good whether you decide to go with the free HTC Wildfire S, or the HTC Merge, or any of their other Android devices they have available. This offer is unfortunately available via web only, but to make up for this they have offered free shipping on any purchase you make. Additionally if you happen to leave your current carrier in favor of US Celluar and chose one of their value packed plans you can be eligible for an additional $150 credit for trading in a qualified smartphone.

This deal may not be for everyone, but if you are looking for a way out of the phone and contract you have now, you may want to give US Cellular some thought, and check out this new promotion before it is to late.

That's it -- no more business cards for me at Mobile World Congress. Googler Trevor Johns has coded up (and open-sourced) a little app called, appropriately enough, Badge Scanner, which will properly read the NFC chip inside the MWC badge and display it on your phone. You then can add a note and save the contact information. Begone, paper business cards!

Do note that if you use this, it'll give up your registered phone number as well. (I've blurred mine out above.) It's not that we don't love getting calls from all you PR reps out there, of course -- we just know how squeamish everyone is with their personal information these days.

If you're here in Barcelona and want to give this a go, we've got download links after the break.

Mobile World Congress day one wrap-up

We grabbed a few hours sleep after yesterdays Android landslide, and got right back into full swing in Barcelona for the first official day of Mobile World Congress 2012. While all day yesterday was spent bouncing from one venue to the next to see official press events, we got to spend a good part of the day today doing what's coolest about going to a big show like MWC -- talk one-on-one to vendors, developers, and all manner of PR people. The boys put miles on their shoe leather cruising the show floor and meeting with the exhibitors, and we get the benefit of hearing it all without the sore feet.

I know a lot of you folks out there like games. I like them, too, and it's a big part of the reason I'm a fan of what NVIDIA has brought to Android with their Tegra chipsets. When you build the hardware and help developers optimize their software for it, you get something that works great, looks great, and is a load of fun. It's the reason that companies like Apple can have games and apps that perform so well without having great hardware specs.

NVIDIA powered devices, especially ones with the new Tegra 3 chip, have great specs. They also have optimized software available for them, through the Market or places like the Tegra Zone. When you mix the two together, they really shine.

Tonight, NVIDIA has set the bar a bit higher and is bringing a new set of Tegra optimized games to Market -- Sonic 4: Episode II, Golden Arrow THD, Dark Kingdom THD, Eden to GREEEEN THD, and Hamilton's Great Adventure THD. Hit the break to have a preview of each of them.

Huawei debuts quad-core Mediapad 10 FHD at MWC

Huawei have definitely hit the ground hard at Mobile World Congress. Following on the quad-core theme is their latest tablet offering, the Mediapad 10 FHD.

The aluminium unibodied Mediapad 10 will arrive packing their own 1.5GHz quad-core processor, Ice Cream Sandwich, and a glorious 1900x1200 10 inch IPS display. We're also treated to a healthy dose of Dolby surround sound technology. The good news -- especially for you guys in North America -- is that the Mediapad 10 will support LTE as well as HSPA+

As with the Ascend Quad D, Huawei are making big claims with this tablet, labelling it the "fastest quad-core tablet available." It's thin, at just 8.8mm and it's light at just under 600g. The rear camera comes in an 8MP, coupled with a 1.3MP front facer.

There's nothing in the release about on board storage, but all in all the Mediapad 10 looks like an impressive tablet. Huawei really have upped their game with this latest batch of devices. Maybe, just maybe they have what it takes to become a major player. The Mediapad 10 FHD is set to be available in the global market during Q2 2012.

Samsung Galaxy Nexus OEM desktop dock review

It seems like we've been waiting forever for the official Samsung Galaxy Nexus desktop dock to arrive, and when we saw it finally appear in stock we had to grab one. It came in today, so that means it's review time!

When you open the package (which was just a brown cardboard box, nothing fancy here), you notice that it's pretty heavy. It's not ridiculously heavy, but it weighs about twice as much as the phone. Combine that with the rubber base plate, and it's not going to slide around from the weight of a cable. It's pretty sturdy. It's plastic, of course, but it's hard coated plastic and feels very nice. I almost don't want to say this, but it feels nicer than the plastic the phone itself is made out of. It's a solid grayish-black that matches the color of the GNex itself. On appearance, it gets high marks.

The reason we all have been wanting this one is because of the pogo pins. There's three of them, and they line up with the three contacts on the phone to provide a charge. In the dock itself, there's also a small recess so that the power button isn't depressed when you drop the phone in. Around back, there's a 3.5mm line-out jack and a micro USB connector. The micro USB connector only provides power, so you can't transfer files of debug through it. The line-out jack is a standard 3.5mm jack, and it works well with speakers of headphones. You'll need one or the other, because when it enters "Car Mode" by going in the dock, the external speaker is silenced. It's a bit of an annoyance, and one I'm sure could be fixed with a bit of hackery.

When you drop the phone into the dock, it enters Car Mode and everything goes horizontal. We've seen this with other phones when docked, so we weren't really surprised. Everything turns, and you'll have no problem maneuvering through the OS while it's docked.

Samsung lists this on their website as being for the i515 only, which is the Verizon LTE version. We took a gamble, and it seems to work just fine with the unlocked GSM version as well. We just have to mention that officially, this one is only for the i515. They also want $90 for it. That's a lot of money for a desktop dock.

So is it worth it? As I mention in the video (after the break), maybe. If you're the type of gadget geek who has to have the best as soon as it's available, then yeah, go on and order it. You'll be pleased with the way it's built and the way it works. If you just need a desktop docking station for your Nexus and the thought of spending $90 on one is a bit much, them you might want to wait and see if a third party comes up with a good solution. Either way, I'm glad I got this one. Hit the jump to see a short video and some more pictures.

HTC One V hands-on

At HTC's Mobile World Congress press event on Sunday evening in Barcelona, it was a strickly look-but-don't-touch affair for the HTC One V. Disappointing, to say the least. Today at the Google booth we got a chance to muck one up with our grubby fingers, and let us just say this about that:

The HTC Legend is reborn.

The iconic form factor that many of us fell in love with two years ago at this very conference has returned. The chin, obviously, is what makes this phone stand out. But It's been updated for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and now sports just three capacitive buttons below the 3.7-inch Super LCD display. It's got the same unibody design as the original Legened. It's got a 1GHz Qualcomm 8255 processor and 512MB RAM. (We'd love to tell you how fast it is, but the software's not yet finished and we've yet to see a working model.)

Put it this way: If you loved the fit and finish of the orignal Legend, you're going to want to check this one out. We've got more pics after the break to hold you over while you wait for this one's release.